1. Field of the Invention
This application relates to a level converter for use in a semiconductor device that operates with a plurality of power source voltages.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recent semiconductor device, for lower power consumption, an internal circuit is configured to handle signals at levels lower than those of signals being handled in external portions of the semiconductor device. That is, operation power source voltages of the internal circuit are set lower than voltages of the signal levels being handled in the external portions of the semiconductor device. As such, an input circuit of such a semiconductor device includes a level converter that converts external signal levels to signal levels of an internal circuit. Further, an output circuit of the semiconductor device includes a level converter that converts the signal levels of the internal circuit to external signal levels. A technique related to such a level converter is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-336007.